Data from the first full week of lockdown shows the number of positive COVID-19 cases has continued to rise in Stevenage and North Herts.

According to the Office for National Statistics, there were 160 new cases of the virus in Stevenage between November 7 and November 13, up 50 from the previous week.

Similarly, in North Herts, there have been 198 cases – up 54 from the previous week.

In the same time period, the average area in England had 223 cases per 100,000 people. This remains below the average at 182 for Stevenage and 148 in North Herts. The total number of cases up to November 17 is 1,265 in North Herts, and 982 in Stevenage.

The coronavirus death toll remains at 60 in Stevenage, and 100 in North Herts.

The UK’s R-number, which represents the rate of transmission, sits between 1.0 and 1.2.

American biotech company, Moderna, announced on Monday that its potential vaccine had proven to be 95 per cent effective.

This followed a breakthrough for Pfizer and BioNTech last week, which – according to preliminary analysis – could prevent 90 per cent of people from contracting the virus.

It was announced today that the Pfizer vaccine – due to arrive in the UK before the end of 2020 – has passed safety checks and is 95 per cent effective for over 65s.